One Louder…

Every now and then, a situation presents itself not through your own making, but as a series of random events culminating in one making an opportunistic split second decision.

Recently, the weather has been cold and wet. This has resulted in some rather large puddles. A particularly good example is just outside the Jury Inn hotel by the town centre in Southampton. The puddle is on a very busy roundabout and in addition to the usual feature of a puddle of being wet, also boasts additional characteristics such as dirty, smelly and laden with CO2.

20 minutes ago, I was stuck at a red light on the roundabout, some 5 meters behind the said puddle, just before the pedestrian crossing. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a traffic warden approaching the crossing. The green man is flashing as he approaches and he quickens his pace. It is not enough though and the green flashing man is replaced by a red one and he is forced to stop on the curb. The traffic light for me turns amber, then green. I look the traffic warden dead in the eye and recognize his expression. It is the look often seen in war films when a soldier suddenly realises he is looking straight down the barrel of a gun. Initially, wide eyed like rabbit in your headlights, quickly changing to an almost weary acceptance of fate.

I release the handbrake and accelerate. Fast.